FOUR YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN OF PEN INTERNATIONAL 2015-2018

The voice of writers around the world, PEN International promotes freedom of expression and literature, celebrates languages and linguistic diversity, and cultivates respect and tolerance through cross-cultural dialogue, education, literary exchanges, and translation. —PEN International mission statement

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PEN International is a global network of writers who subscribe to the PEN charter and who are affiliated with 149 federated centres in more than 100 countries. These centres represent PEN’s values and carry out programmes and activities that promote and advance those values in every corner of the globe. PEN centres also carry out missionadvancing programmes and activities through regional networks and through PEN International’s four standing committees, the Writers in Prison Committee, the Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee, the Writers for Peace Committee, and the Women Writers Committee. PEN International is governed by the general assembly of its member centres and guided by its elected officers and board. As the representative voice of PEN’s global membership, the officers and board set policy and programme priorities for the organization as a whole, promote PEN and its positions to the world and to PEN’s funders and supporters, and oversee the management and administration of the organization. The work of PEN International is coordinated and supported by the PEN International Secretariat, which leads and facilitates key aspects of PEN’s programming and administers the financial resources of the organization. The Secretariat staff implements organization-wide programmes, supports centres in developing and coordinating local programmes and activities, assists PEN’s four standing committees and regional 1

networks of centres, and amplifies the voice of the PEN community internationally. The strength of the Secretariat reflects the strength of the PEN International community as a whole: drawing on the diversity, vitality, and dynamism of the global PEN community and guided by PEN’s elected leadership, the Secretariat serves that community and enables it to flourish and grow. This strategic plan formalizes priorities set by PEN’s elected officers and board in consultation with its centres and standing committees and the Secretariat staff, and provides a blueprint for the work and for the development of the Secretariat for the period from 2015 through 2018. It builds on the success of PEN’s previous three-year plan, which significantly increased the voice of PEN through support for campaigning, project work and capacity building at the centre level; assistance to PEN’s standing committees; and coordination for PEN’s participation and advocacy in international cultural and intergovernmental fora. It provides a framework for strengthening and extending these successes, and sets new, realistic goals and defines achievable targets, outcomes, and methods for monitoring and evaluating the plan’s success. The three main goals for PEN International for the next four years are to: 1. Increase the impact and reach of PEN’s advocacy and other programming to promote freedom of expression, literatures and linguistic diversity, and mutual respect and tolerance across borders 2. Cultivate strong, diverse, and sustainable PEN centres that are influential civil society actors advancing PEN’s mission at the local, national, regional, and international levels. 3. Strengthen the capacity of PEN International to facilitate, support, and promote PEN’s work globally through PEN’s centennial year These goals will be achieved in two phases: a one-year phase of consolidation and planning for growth, which will include building capacity for monitoring, evaluation, and learning organization-wide, and a three-year phase of coordinated capacity building and programme expansion. The plan will bring measurable change in promoting freedom of expression, literature, and linguistic diversity; advance mutual respect and tolerance across borders; and complete a step-change process that is equipping PEN International and its centres to project PEN’s values and carry out effective programs that promote strong, diverse, and creative civil societies well into the future. The four year period covered by this plan comes at a moment of unique opportunity for PEN. Over the last decade, PEN has modernized and democratized its governance structures, extended PEN’s presence on the ground on every continent and expanded its activism at the national, regional, and international level, and secured new support to advance its values and programmes. From 2012 to 2014, significant funding from SIDA 2

and from other funders including PEN’s Publishers and Writers Circles, UNESCO, l’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Finland, has supported a capacity-building process that is enabling a growing network of PEN centres in the global south to design and carry out projects that interpret and promote PEN’s mission in a local context, and also building stronger programme, governance, and financial structures within the Secretariat of PEN International so that it can better serve the global PEN network. Our overarching goal for the 2015 – 2018 plan period is to complete this capacity building and programme development process, a process that will enable PEN and its members and centres to sustain its recent growth and advance its mission through the organization’s 100th year. HOW WE GOT HERE Now in its 93rd year, PEN International is looking to build on nearly a century of success in defending writers under threat, supporting the richness of linguistic and literary traditions, and promoting mutual respect and understanding through the free exchange of literature and ideas around the globe. It is seeking to fortify and expand this work, and to develop new tools and capacities to sustain PEN’s work and carry out its essential mission well into the future. PEN was formed and has grown around a set of values that are shared by writers throughout the world: Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, and the exercise of that right is an essential element of the human experience. Language is the indispensible means of exercising that right, and linguistic diversity is a vital part of the richness of the expressive experience. Literature, the product of the universal human drive to tell stories and to understand experience, is an enduring celebration of that right, an essential part of every culture, and a shared treasure of all cultures. The free exchange of literature, and of ideas and of information, across cultures and borders is essential to mutual recognition and cross-cultural understanding. In support of these values, PEN has developed and carried out programmes and campaigns that have · · · · · · · · ·

Freed writers and journalists imprisoned for their writing Helped endangered writers facing persecution reach safe havens Overturned laws and reversed policies that violate the right to freedom of expression Protected and supported writing in minority languages Provided a platform and advocated for equal opportunities for women writers and writers from minority and marginalized literary communities Promoted literacy, creative writing, and mother tongue education Opened dialogues across conflict zones Brought down barriers to the exchange of information and increased the flow of literature in translation Celebrated literary and journalistic excellence across cultures 3

These successes have been made possible in large part because of PEN’s unique structure. PEN’s global membership of writers belong to an expanding network of PEN centres throughout the world, and PEN’s programmes are developed and shaped through a combination of local initiative, centre to centre collaboration, and international coordination through the PEN International Secretariat in London. Our strength is in both our diversity—not only geographic and cultural, but also in the structures, resources, and approaches of our individual centres—and our shared commitment to PEN’s mission and values. In our very composition, we embody the truth that these values are both universal and local, in the same way that storytelling is both universal and distinctly, and vitally, local. PEN as an organization was born out of the turmoil of the First World War, when nationalistic passions fueled divisions and violence; found its voice during the Second World War, when books were consigned to bonfires and writers targeted and driven into exile; and came of age during the Cold War, when many writers were jailed, silenced, or driven underground. Those experiences remain at the heart of PEN’s programming—as when writers in Ukraine and Russia carry out public dialogues and local actions to mitigate conflict in the region, or when the PEN Secretariat helps Syrian or Mexican or Sri Lankan journalists reach safe havens where they can resume their lives and work, or when PEN centres join together to campaign for the many writers currently jailed in China. At the same time, we are witnessing, and working to confront, many evolving post-Cold War challenges. The rise of non-state actors who seek to limit freedom of expression or impose cultural orthodoxies; states with ever more sophisticated systems for monitoring their citizens and censoring expression; globalized economies and policies that threaten to overwhelm local languages and cultural traditions; illiberal democracies and new forms of authoritarianism that challenge liberal democratic models; a persistent and growing divide between those who have the means to tell their own stories and those who do not—these are just a few of the forces that are now encroaching on the right of all to express themselves freely, in the language of their own choosing. There is a larger, overarching challenge as well: a loss of momentum for the human rights movement as a whole, as new forms of popularly-supported authoritarianism, impunity, and rights violation spread even to countries that have long championed basic freedoms and rights. All of these new challenges are occurring against the backdrop of the rise of digital technologies. For PEN, it is impossible to overstate the promise and potential impact of these technologies: global digital communications could literally offer everyone on earth the means to fulfill their right, as guaranteed under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media, regardless of frontiers.” With these tools, more and more of us have the ability to share information and ideas and to tell our stories than ever before; more of us, quite simply, are writers. In that sense, PEN’s constituency is expanding exponentially, and PEN’s aspiration that all can participate in local literary activities and

4

traditions and also share in a truly global exchange of literature and ideas now seems within reach. These technologies do not come without a cost, however. More people exercising their right to write means more people are attracting the attention of those who would curtail or deny that right, and so the circle of those on whose behalf PEN may be called upon to advocate is expanding as well. And digital technologies themselves can add to the dangers. What can seem to be simply new channels of communication are also new tools of surveillance, giving governments, non-state actors, and commercial entities unprecedented abilities to penetrate and monitor our private, creative lives. Meanwhile, more and more information and ideas moving across traditional geopolitical and cultural borders can mean more resistance to such exchanges and more conflicts when traditions collide. The tendency of globalized communications to favor majority languages and cultures intensifies the inherent uneasiness of these exchanges, and adds to the already extreme pressures on minority languages and cultures. This is the landscape in which PEN is approaching the end of its first century. It is a landscape that, more than ever, seems to call for PEN, an organization that defends freedom of expression, celebrates language and linguistic diversity, and promotes tolerance and mutual understanding through literature, cross-cultural dialogue, and translation. PEN is hardly alone in what it does. For the past several decades it has worked alongside, and often partnered with, a range of human rights, free expression, literary, and cultural organizations to affect change on issues of common interest. Recent examples include teaming up with Article 19, Index on Censorship, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and IFEX on free expression campaigns; with the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) to bring writers and journalists facing imminent threats to safe havens; and with UNESCO to promote minority language publishing and linguistic diversity. But PEN remains a unique and sometimes singularly effective voice for promoting human rights and civil society values. This is both because of who we are and how we speak. We are writers and opinion formers from all corners of the earth, from a host of languages and cultural traditions, joined by the common experience of literature. As such, we embody the truth that creativity and self-expression are both local and universal values. When we act collectively, it is from a sense of individual, personal solidarity. When we speak across borders, cultures, and political divides, it is with the sense of mutual recognition and respect that comes from creating and exchanging literature and ideas—a shared experience that PEN’s founding members understood could be transformative for individuals, communities, and nations. And in fact, PEN’s recent growth testifies to the relevance of its mission and the ongoing value of its work. Over the past five years, with support from key institutional funders and from a growing network of publishers and individual writer contributors, new and revitalized PEN centres have designed and implemented projects that embody PEN’s values and advance its core mission at the local level in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. 5

Many of these projects, including school and community based education initiatives, focus on bringing these values to the next generation of writers and readers, stimulating the creativity and critical thinking on which a dynamic civil society depends. At the same time, the PEN world as a whole has raised its collective voice to counter efforts to ban defamation (both criminal and religious) and to expand governmental surveillance powers, two serious contemporary structural threats to freedom of expression. The PEN Secretariat has significantly improved its capacity both to support local centre activities and to coordinate PEN activities at the international level. Our goal, with this strategic plan, is to set forth a 4-year course for programme growth and for capacity building at both local and international levels, one that will honor PEN’s history, maintain its current momentum, and build governance, fundraising, and financial structures that will support PEN’s work as it nears the end of its first 100 years, and ensure the success and sustainability of that work well into the organization’s second century. WHERE WE ARE NOW As we near the end of a three-year period of growth, and as we look ahead to the next four years, we have identified the following organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths: · · · · · · · · · ·

Unique stature as the world’s only international writers organization A diverse, expanding, and influential international membership base, one that is both attracting new and emerging writers and engaging a growing number of established, prominent voices A truly global constellation of centres that support PEN’s mission, and an increasing number of centres that are developing and carrying out local activities and initiatives in support of that mission An organizational identity rooted in literature and the universal human experiences of storytelling and creativity Core organizational values (freedom of expression, linguistic and cultural diversity, and mutual respect across cultures) that are vital and necessary in increasingly interconnected yet fractured world A rich organizational history, which includes a track record of success in protecting and defending writers at risk A solid reputation as an advocate for writers at risk at the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations and among colleague organizations Visibility and intellectual leadership in the broader realm of freedom of expression, and in the areas of translation and linguistic rights A multifaceted organizational identity that enables PEN centres to operate in a wide variety of political and cultural landscapes A tradition of ground-up, centre-driven projects and programming 6

· · ·

An established core programme and an experienced staff dedicated to protecting and defending writers at risk Effective partnerships with the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) and the PEN Emergency Fund that enhance PEN’s efforts to aid writers in imminent danger A skilled, energetic, and creative staff engaged in research, policy development, campaigning and advocacy work, literary promotion, and centre development and support across programme areas; and a new, dynamic, and visionary senior management team

Weaknesses: ·

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

A lack of diversity in membership and leadership in some Centres and within PEN as a whole, and a need to increase participation of women writers, young writers, and writers from minority communities in individual PEN centres and overall Insufficiently articulated strategy for member recruitment, engagement, training, and leadership development organization-wide Varying access for PEN’s far-flung, geographically diverse membership base to PEN programmes, activities, and initiatives Wide variance of capacities at the centre level to participate in PEN-wide activities and initiatives and to develop local projects Divergent visions within PEN’s network of autonomous centres on organizational positions and priorities Inadequate and insecure systems for internal (Secretariat to centre, centre to Secretariat, and centre to centre) communications Underdeveloped systems for promoting and facilitating internal discussions and consensus-building on organizational issues Underdeveloped systems for external communications and for publicly promoting PEN’s work and garnering support for PEN’s advocacy and campaigns at the local to the international level Insufficient resources for elected officer, board and staff missions and travel Overtaxed and under-resourced communications, advocacy, and other programme staff Historical, structural bifurcation between free expression work and other missionrelated priorities and activities Lagging systems for compiling, storing, and retrieving research and information relating to free expression and linguistic rights Lagging systems for documenting and sharing information about PEN activities at the local and regional levels Under-resourced financial management systems Evolving understanding of board and officer responsibilities and roles, and underdeveloped strategy for board and officer training Inadequate systems for monitoring, documenting, and evaluating effectiveness of programme performance and management systems 7

Opportunities: · · · · · · · · · ·

Unprecedented opportunities for women, men, and children around the world to be readers and writers, and to access, produce, and disseminate literature and information Ever-improving means to connect with and engage PEN’s global membership and network of centres A new or revitalized identity for PEN in several countries, especially in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and an expanding map of PEN activities on the ground in every region A growing number of successful international literary festivals and events and programmes to promote translation, languages, and cultural exchanges New means of preserving and disseminating minority languages, literatures, and cultural traditions Growing interest in and support for protecting human rights defenders including writers and journalists at risk A staff and management team committed to working collaboratively across programmes Strong, expanding support from foundations, including substantial core funding support for crucial capacity building Solidified, ongoing support from the publishing community through the Publishers Circle, and from individual writers through the Writers Circle, Readers Circle, and Screen Circle PEN’s upcoming 2021 centennial, a singular opportunity for long-term financial planning and fundraising

Threats: · · · ·

· ·

Increasing violence against writers, journalists, and human rights defenders in several countries and regions, posing a direct threat to many PEN members and a constant and growing threat to significant sectors of PEN’s constituency Governments and non-state actors increasingly impervious to traditional advocacy methods Accelerating losses of languages and linguistic and literary traditions, and lack of official protection for many languages and linguistic traditions Trends in some places, likely in response to globalization and globalized communications and threats to local systems and traditions, toward intolerance and the rejection of cross-cultural exchanges and articulations of universal rights and values In some countries, political, regulatory, or cultural environments that are hostile or threatening to PEN centres Expanding number of human rights and literary NGOs competing for members and funding

8

· · ·

Uneven development within PEN, which could leave some PEN constituencies feeling marginalized Inadequate resources at both the Secretariat and centre level for successful programmes and activities Difficulty of integrating and coordinating PEN’s multifaceted programming

WHERE WE ARE GOING: THE STRATEGIC PLAN, 2015 – 2018 The Framework This strategic plan seeks to build on these strengths, address these weaknesses, maximize these opportunities, and minimize these threats. In developing this plan, we have been guided by the following basic propositions: ·

Our strength is in our membership, and our greatest potential is in our centres. In their diversity and shared commitment to PEN’s values, our members and centres embody the fact that those values are both uniquely local and universal.

·

Literature is one of the highest achievements of freedom of expression, and should be protected and celebrated in all its forms. It should also be shared, in source languages and in translation. Exchanges of literatures, stories, and ideas are an essential means for promoting tolerance, peace, and mutual respect and understanding, and for supporting and advancing PEN’s other work and values.

·

Just as the creative spirit resides in all, so should the production, distribution, and enjoyment of literature be available equally to all. We are especially committed to ensuring the principle of equal access extends to women and members of minority languages and groups who have traditionally faced barriers to participation in literary culture. Our commitment to this principle extends to PEN’s structures and its programmes as well.

·

Our programmes are best and most effective when they engage our members and our centres in every phrase of programme design, development, and implementation. Our best projects are ones that interpret PEN’s core mission and values locally to address national concerns and seize opportunities to engage and governments and communities. Our most effective advocacy campaigns are ones that unite the PEN world in all its diversity in articulating and promoting universally-held values both locally and globally.

·

The PEN Secretariat has a crucial role to play in supporting and promoting PEN centre activities, in assisting PEN centre project development and implementation, in facilitating the work of PEN’s regional networks and four standing committees, and in coordinating international advocacy and collaborative programme activities

9

·

In addition, the Secretariat is a hub for three main programme activities: defending writers at risk and protecting freedom of expression; safeguarding and promoting linguistic diversity; and developing the capacity of PEN centres to participate in, and lead, PEN projects and activities. We are committed to expanding the reach and impact of these core activities.

·

To carry out its work, the Secretariat must have a strong staff working transparently and collaboratively across programmes within the London office, and in close partnership with the centres around the world. Moreover, the Secretariat serves as the communications hub for the PEN world, and must maintain safe and effective systems for both internal and external communications.

·

To ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of PEN’s work, the Secretariat must have transparent financial systems and operations, reliable processes for monitoring and evaluating programmes, and ongoing, forward-looking planning and fundraising structures

The Scope While PEN stands for a set of globally recognized values, our identity is defined by what we do: by the activities and initiatives the PEN community carries out at the local, regional, and international level. Our success is measured by the extent to which we are able to bring about positive changes that enact and represent our values. PEN’s programmes exist to represent and advance specific objectives, to achieve specific changes, to accomplish specific goals. The PEN community worldwide is engaged in a range of mission-advancing programmes at the centre level and through PEN’s regional networks and four standing committees. The Secretariat plays a growing role in supporting, facilitating, or publicizing this work, and also coordinates PEN-wide programming in key areas, and it will be focusing on three major programme areas during this strategic plan period. Those areas are: ·

Centre development: Building the capacity of PEN centres to participate in, advance, and lead PEN programmes and carry out PEN activities and initiatives

·

Freedom of Expression: Defending writers at risk and protecting freedom of expression on a range of issues including abolishing criminal defamation, promoting digital rights, and ending impunity for crimes committed against writers and journalists

·

Linguistic Rights: Preserving and promoting linguistic and literary diversity

Around the world, PEN members, centres, and networks are constantly carrying out activities and initiatives that advance PEN’s principles and positions. Broadly speaking, these fall into three general categories: 10

· · ·

Advocacy campaigns addressing specific policy concerns Literary exchanges, cross-cultural dialogues, and translation Education and youth programmes

These initiatives and activities often cut across PEN’s programme areas, represent multiple PEN values, and advance several PEN external and internal objectives simultaneously. An advocacy campaign, for example, can press for change of a specific practice or policy that threatens freedom of expression; at the same time, it can energize and mobilize PEN’s membership and serve as a means for empowering PEN centres. A PEN-sponsored event at an international literary festival can promote PEN’s value of the exchange of literature and ideas across borders while also serving as a platform for pressing a specific advocacy goal. A centre-run education programme that engages young women in writing on human rights-related themes simultaneously promotes equal access to education and literature, cultivates creativity and freedom of expression, and builds respect for core human rights values. As such, these activities can be seen as tools that are available to, and shared by, all of PEN’s programmes. This relationship between programmes and activities can be illustrated this way:

This strategic plan sets out a roadmap for programme delivery, capacity building, and sustainable development for the PEN International Secretariat from 2015 through 2018. It is a holistic strategy that recognizes that these three elements are interdependent, and that the success of each of these elements is essential for the success of the others.

11

Programme delivery for the period covered by this strategic plan will be concentrated primarily in the three core areas of defending writers at risk and protecting freedom of expression; safeguarding and promoting linguistic diversity; and developing the capacity of PEN centres in Africa, Latin America, and Asia to participate in, and lead, projects and campaigns that bring measurable gains for freedom of expression, linguistic diversity, and other mission-related goals at the local and national level. . Capacity building will focus on strengthening the ability of the Secretariat to provide leadership in international advocacy; to build the skills and resources of its membership to carry out and expand these three core programmes; and to serve as a vital coordination, learning, and communications hub for the PEN world as a whole. This capacity building will include a particular concentration on strengthening PEN’s financial operations and development efforts, to ensure financial stability throughout the strategic plan period; on developing PEN’s monitoring and learning frameworks; and on building the framework for sustainable fundraising and special fundraising initiatives through to PEN’s centennial year. Finally, while this strategic plan focuses on goals for the three primary Secretariatcoordinated programmes, it recognizes that the three areas of activities described here are the main ways in which our centres, members, and the public as a whole engage with these programmes and goals. It therefore includes objectives for advocacy campaigns, literary exchanges and dialogues, and education programmes that can advance the goals of that programme area. Because centre-based education programmes have proven to be particularly successful both as mission-advancing initiatives in their own right and as engines for centre development and growth, it includes a specific set of goals aimed at realizing the potential of this vital and expanding area of our work. The Plan The voice of writers around the world, PEN International promotes freedom of expression and literature, celebrates languages and linguistic diversity, and cultivates respect and tolerance through cross-cultural dialogue, literature, and translation. —PEN International mission statement

To better fulfill PEN’s mission, the three main goals for PEN International for the next four years are to:

12

1. Increase the impact and reach of PEN’s advocacy and other programming to promote freedom of expression, literatures and linguistic diversity, and mutual respect and tolerance across borders 2. Cultivate strong, diverse, and sustainable PEN centres that are influential civil society actors advancing PEN’s mission at the local, national, regional, and international levels 3. Strengthen the capacity of PEN International to facilitate, support, and promote PEN’s work globally through PEN’s centennial year These three goals arise from and build on a significant increase in PEN International’s capacity to support and coordinate programmes and activities over the past three years. They incorporate both successes and lessons learned over that period, and they include clear targets for external impact and change and a plan for ongoing, phased capacity building at both the centre and Secretariat level to increase that impact and ensure the strength and sustainability of the PEN network into the future. Goal 1: Increase the impact and reach of PEN’s advocacy and programming to protect writers and to promote freedom of expression, literatures and linguistic diversity, and mutual respect and tolerance across borders What we are building on: A recognized leader in advocating for individual writers imprisoned or at risk of persecution for their work, PEN International has concentrated over the last three years on expanding the impact of its solidarity and protection efforts; confronting key structural threats to freedom of expression including the problem of impunity for the murder of writers and journalists and the massive expansion of government surveillance programs; and finding new ways to leverage the voices of PEN’s influential membership in PEN’s advocacy efforts and campaigns. With the emergence of new and revitalized PEN centres in countries with clear and urgent freedom of expression concerns, PEN International has also focused on bringing the concerns and voices of these centres and their members to the forefront in PEN’s advocacy efforts, partnering with PEN centres and sister freedom of expression organizations to prepare and present submissions to the United Nations on threats to individual writers and freedom of expression, and collaborating with networks of new and established centres to produce thematic reports such as this year’s Honduras: Journalism in the Shadow of Impunity and to design and carry out advocacy initiatives such as the 2012 Write Against Impunity campaign. Over the past decade, PEN has also become a global leader in defining and articulating linguistic rights, and over the past three years PEN International has intensified efforts to translate ideals into action and promote concrete policies that promote and defend linguistic diversity around the world. At the heart of these efforts is PEN’s Girona Manifesto on Linguistic Rights, which was drafted in the Committee on Translation and Linguistic Rights in 2012 and adopted by the PEN membership in 2013 as a primary 13

statement of intent and as a policy position for the organization going forward. To advance these goals, PEN International has begun supporting centre-based education programmes focusing on mother tongue education in Africa and Asia and worked with centres to promote cultural diversity and linguistic rights regionally and internationally— efforts that include a UNESCO-funded PEN initiative to support a research and advocacy project on minority language publishing in 6 countries, in partnership with the Haitian, Kenyan, Nigerian, and Serbian PEN centres. As outlined above, three main activity areas support and advance PEN’s mission: advocacy campaigns, literary dialogues and exchanges, and education programs. With SIDA support and matching funding from Clifford Chance and UNESCO, two of these were strengthened substantially over the last three years. From 2012 to 2014, twenty-one PEN Centres developed and delivered 34 education and youth-directed programmes, and in 2013 the PEN International Board formally recognized Education and Youth as a strategic priority for PEN as a whole. These education programmes drew on models developed by PEN centres in Sierra Leone and other African countries and adapted them to local needs in countries from Southeast Asia to the Balkans. These initiatives have supplemented existing education structures; they have also created new models for non-traditional education programmes that reach out to communities, such as a programme serving Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. These programmes have integrated and advanced PEN values including freedom of expression, linguistic rights, equal access for woman and minority and disenfranchised communities to creative and literary culture, and mutual respect and tolerance. Building mutual respect and tolerance across borders has also been at the heart of the growth of PEN’s literary programming. Over the last three years, the PEN Secretariat has partnered with the Hay Festival, the Guadalajara Book Fair, the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Moscow Non/Fiction Book Fair and other major international literary gatherings to hold cross-cultural conversations that reinforce and advance PEN’s core values. In line with the findings of PEN’s 2007 report “To Be Translated or Not To Be Translated,” the Secretariat and several PEN centres have successfully promoted a freer and more equitable flow of literature in translation, bringing more and more voices into the global cultural conversation. Echoing the founding purpose of PEN as a whole in the wake of a world war, and of its Writers for Peace Committee during the Balkan conflict, the committee and PEN International have partnered with Russian and Ukrainian PEN to carry out a series of dialogues aimed at reducing tensions and building mutual respect in an increasingly conflicted region. Writers from across cultural traditions have come together to protest policies that promote intolerance and the silencing of alternative voices, and the Bled Manifesto, developed in the Writers for Peace Committee and adopted at the annual PEN Congress in 2013, provides a new platform for PEN’s tolerance-building work. The result has been a growing appreciation PEN-wide of how literature, translation, and cross-cultural dialogue can work in tandem to bring down cultural barriers and advance mutual understanding—and how they both depend on, and advance, other core PEN 14

values including freedom of expression, peace, and the right of all to create and to participate in local and global literary culture. What success looks like going forward: Over the next four years, PEN International will sharpen its advocacy to achieve specific gains in these focused, mission-critical areas. At the end of the four year grant period, we will be able to show four clear outcomes: 1.1 Individual writers in prison and other writers at risk have received meaningful support, and have seen their situations tangibly improve, through PEN’s solidarity and advocacy. We will accomplish this by: 1.1.1 increasing member and centre participation in solidarity and advocacy efforts on behalf of writers at risk, and expanding centre participation in resettlement and other relief activities 1.1.2 amplifying the voices of writers at risk in PEN’s advocacy, civil society, and literary programming 1.2 PEN International has improved its advocacy capacity and has had a direct, measurable impact in confronting significant structural threats to freedom of expression internationally. We will do this by: 1.2.1 increasing research and information-sharing capacity at the Secretariat and the centre level 1.2.2 partnering with key PEN centres in regions with common free expression threats (such as criminal defamation in Africa and Europe and impunity in Latin) to challenge these threats regionally and internationally 1.2.3 partnering with PEN’s global network of centers to develop a single, three-year campaign on a mission-critical issue that will create stronger campaign systems and structures internally and produce tangible impacts and the national, regional, and international levels 1.3 PEN has expanded advocacy to protect languages and promote minority literatures and linguistic rights. We will do this by: 1.3.1 engaging PEN centers in translating, promoting, and advocating for the protections outlined in PEN’s Girona Manifesto on Linguistic Rights 1.3.2 promoting policy changes and advocating specific new protections for languages and linguistic rights in targeted countries

15

1.4 PEN and its network of centers have carried out education initiatives, literary programs, and cross-cultural dialogues that have amplified underrepresented voices and increased mutual understanding and tolerance within and among nations. We will accomplish this by: 1.4.1 supporting centre-driven education projects that promote literature, mother-tongue literacy, translation, and the creativity and critical thinking skills essential for a vibrant civil society; and cultivating and promoting the work of the next generations of writers, particularly those from minority backgrounds 1.4.2 staging Free the Word events and other prominent public programmes that celebrate the universal power of literature and engage influential and diverse writers in dialogues that promote PEN’s core values and mission. Measuring success: Success will be assessed by the real-world changes PEN and its expanded network of new, revitalized, and engaged centres have achieved through advocacy and other programme activities. Collectively, the PEN community will have: · · · · ·

Provided direct support to individual writers at risk that meaningfully improved their situations Achieved tangible success in confronting a major structural threat to freedom of expression at the national, regional, and international level Advocated for and won policy changes at the national and regional level that address regional free expression, linguistic rights, and educational issues Raised awareness internationally of the importance of linguistic diversity; won specific, new national protections for languages and linguistic rights; and stimulated new writing in minority languages Built respect at the local and national level for PEN’s core values of human rights, tolerance, and linguistic and cultural diversity

Goal 2: Cultivate strong, diverse, and sustainable PEN centres that are influential civil society actors advancing PEN’s mission at the local, national, regional, and international levels What we are building on: A central focus of our work over the last three years has been to build a stronger, more connected global network of members and centres that are promoting PEN’s values in concrete, visible ways in their local communities and countries and are engaged in and shaping PEN’s work at the regional and international level.

16

Substantial support from SIDA, the PEN Publishers Circle, Clifford Chance, UNESCO, and other partners has enabled PEN International to provide more effective and sustaining assistance to new and emerging PEN centres; to centres seeking to design and carry out projects promoting PEN’s values and objectives in their countries and regions; and to centres working to develop their capacity for sustainable growth and programming. PEN centres on every continent are receiving seed grants from PEN International to design and implement PEN-related projects, and a group of new Beacon Centres is receiving sustained mentoring and capacity building assistance from PEN International and partner centres. At the same time, the Secretariat is increasingly partnering with centres on research, advocacy, and campaigning initiatives; collaborating with centres to expand successful centre-led intiatives; facilitating knowledge sharing among centres; and helping centres connect to the global PEN community through regional networks and PEN’s standing committees. This strategy to develop PEN at the centre level has been coupled with a concentration on expanding and enriching PEN’s membership base, with an eye toward diversifying that base by attracting younger writers, writers of more diverse language and cultural traditions, and women, and also toward engaging writers of particular stature and influence in their own communities and internationally. This focus on membership has helped to revitalize PEN centres in countries including Argentina and Nicaragua, and has enabled PEN centres and PEN International to harness and leverage the visibility of more prominent writers to project PEN’s message to the media and to the international community. The result of these efforts is a more vibrant and representative PEN community, a community that is more actively engaged, and has a stronger voice, in PEN activities and advocacy initiatives at the local, regional, and international levels. What success looks like going forward: Over the next four years, PEN International will extend and intensify this focus on building and supporting a vibrant PEN community that is advancing PEN’s mission at the local, national, regional, and international levels. At the end of the four-year plan period, we will be able to show three clear outcomes: 2.1 PEN centers have a growing, active, diverse membership base that includes representation and participation of young writers, women writers, writers working in minority languages, and writers from minority communities outside of the prevailing cultural mainstreams. We will do this by: 2.1.1 meeting specific targets for expanding membership through the cultivation of diverse, engaged, and influential writers; and 2.1.2 engaging this expanded and diversified membership in centre projects and governance and in international campaigns and advocacy, and

17

amplifying the voice of PEN’s diverse and influential membership at the international level 2.2 A targeted group of PEN Centres have increased capacity to deliver effective and financially-sustainable civil society projects at the local and national level. We will do this by: 2.2.1 strategic subgranting, training, mentoring and capacity building to up to 28 Beacon centres through the Beacon Centre programme 2.2.2 selective support for centre-initiated and delivered civil society projects and related capacity building through the centre development programme that is enhancing the scope and influence of PEN Centres as civil society actors 2.3 PEN centres are more broadly and meaningfully engaged in PEN’s international and regional structures and in advocacy, civil society, and literary initiatives regionally and internationally. We will accomplish this by: 2.3.1 increasing the number of centres from the global south that are participating in, and shaping the agendas of, PEN’s regional networks and standing committees 2.3.2 building the capacity of targeted centres in the global south to participate in and shape advocacy at the local, regional, and international level, and engaging more centres from all regions of the world in advocating for sound free expression, education, and cultural and linguistic policies nationally, regionally, and internationally Measuring success: Internal benchmarks: The success of PEN’s centre cultivation and development efforts over the next four years will be measured against specific targets outlined in the Logical Framework Analysis. Significant benchmarks of success in strengthening the capacity of PEN centres to advance PEN’s mission by the end of 2018 will include: · · · ·

An increase in PEN’s global membership of 10% per year Greater gender, linguistic, and cultural diversity in PEN’s membership as a whole, within the membership and leadership structures of PEN centres, and in the staff, programme, and leadership structures of PEN International Up to 16 new PEN centres established, mentored, and receiving civil society project funding, and up to twelve additional centres revitalized, mentored, and receiving civil society funding. Up to twenty-eight centres participating in the Beacon Centres program, including 8 providing mentoring and twinning support to new and revitalized centres

18

·

·

·

17 African PEN centres engaged in setting and leading PEN’s agenda for Africa, including 10 centres carrying out advocacy at the regional and international level and 6 centres carrying out civil society project-funded advocacy at the national level 23 Latin American centres engaged in setting and leading PEN’s agenda for Latin America and the Americas as a whole, including 9 centres carrying out advocacy at the regional and international level and up to 5 centres carrying out civil society project-funded advocacy at the national level Centres in all regions trained in advocacy and carrying out both locally-developed and international advocacy activities

External benchmarks: The purpose of this centre development process is to build strong local platforms for PEN’s global membership to carry out effective, mission-advancing projects at the local, regional, national, and international level. Success in realizing this goal will therefore ultimately be measured by the role PEN’s growing network of centres plays in achieving the outcomes described in Goal #1. Our monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on outcomes in Goal #1 will therefore include specific assessments of the impact centres served by the Beacon Centres and centre development programs have had in achieving those advocacy and programme outcomes. Goal 3: Strengthen the capacity of PEN International to facilitate, support, and promote PEN’s work globally through PEN’s centennial year What we are building on: Much of the growth and success of PEN programs and activities over the past three years is the result of significant new capacity-building and programme funding from SIDA, the PEN Publishers Circle and Writers Circle, Clifford Chance, UNESCO, and MFA Finland. This support has helped fund key new posts including a Communications Officer, a Literary Manager, a Centres and Committees Officer, a Policy and Advocacy Officer, and a Programmes officer. This added capacity, in turn, has enabled the Secretariat to expand PEN’s free expression advocacy, especially at the international policy level; augment support for PEN’s networks and standing committees; deliver funding, programme, and capacity-building support to dozens of PEN centres; and significantly increase PEN’s presence in the media, in international literary exchanges and events, and before governmental, intergovernmental, and cultural policy organizations. The keep pace with and sustain the growth of PEN’s networks, programmes, and activities, PEN International is committed to professionalizing its financial, information technology (IT), and programme monitoring and evaluations systems. In the last plan period, with the assistance of Clifford Chance, the Secretariat initiated a review of management and financial systems and policies. This has produced updated human resources policies and procedures for the Secretariat. A parallel IT review led by the NGO Equalit has produced concrete recommendations for strengthening and securing our computer systems and digital communications. These recommendations will be fully 19

implemented during the first year of the new plan period, alongside an overhaul and upgrade of financial systems and the development of an organization-wide programme monitoring and evaluations system. External communications are crucial to the success of PEN’s advocacy efforts, and over the past 3 years, PEN International has significantly increased PEN’s presence in international and local media, strengthening in particular PEN’s efforts to confront threats to writers and free expression around the world. PEN’s recent “Out in the Cold” campaign to draw international attention to the deteriorating climate for freedom of expression in Russia, for example, was covered by 45 leading news outlets in 20 countries. That coverage spotlighted PEN’s open letter signed by over 200 prominent international writers and cultural figures, disseminating the letter’s message and underscoring PEN’s position as the leading voice of the global literary community. PEN has simultaneously expanded its new media presence, and worked to incorporate new media into its advocacy campaigns and into its internal communications with PEN’s global network of centres. Rapid Action Network appeals and other PEN actions are now routinely rebroadcast and amplified by PEN centres and members around the world through social media, mobilizing writers and readers both to participate in PEN actions and to join PEN programs and activities in their local communities. With the Swedish PEN Centre-initiated Dissident Blog, PEN has also established a significant voice in the online community in defense of writers and freedom of expression, one that brings forward voices from a rich variety of languages and cultural traditions into the international conversation about literary and journalistic freedom. At the same time, the addition of a dedicated Centres and Committees Officer at the PEN Secretariat has strengthened internal communications between the Secretariat and PEN centers, and PEN’s new website has opened space for PEN’s global network of centres to showcase their priorities and activities at the international level. What success looks like going forward: Over the next four years, PEN International will complete the process of bringing its management, financial, IT, and programme and evaluation systems to scale; further develop PEN’s external and internal communications capacities to advance and promote PEN’s mission internationally; and ensure full collaboration, learning, and knowledge sharing across the organization. At the end of the four-year plan period, we will be able to show three clear outcomes: 3.1 Renovated and fully professionalized and upgraded finance, development, and programme monitoring, evaluation and learning systems. This will include: 3.1.1 fully upgraded, secure computer, data, and telecommunications systems 3.1.2 a fully articulated monitoring, evaluation, and learning system that is in use organization-wide 20

3.1.3 a fundraising strategy and plan for a capital campaign targeting PEN’s centennial year 3.2 Expanded capacity to communicate and promote PEN’s advocacy objectives at the local, national, and international level and to build global recognition of PEN as the international voice of writers. This will be demonstrable by: 3.2.1 increased press coverage in traditional and new media at both the international, national, and local level 3.2.2 strategically coordinated and mutually reinforcing traditional and digital publications at the centre and international level that project PEN’s values and showcase its work and that include print publications, PEN International and centre websites, and The Dissident Blog 3.2.3 high profile and top-quality local, regional, and international literary programmes and public events that advance PEN’s mission and values, leverage PEN’s diverse and influential voices, and celebrate and advance world literatures 3.3 Improved internal communications to increase member and centre engagement, promote learning, information, and knowledge sharing, and enhance the voice of PEN’s global membership throughout the organization. We will accomplish the by: 3.3.1 designing press and advocacy materials that enable action at the member and centre level 3.3.2 increasing opportunities for centres and members to share and promote their work and project their voices through PEN’s networks, standing committees, and throughout the organization and its governance structures 3.3.3 implementing an organization wide learning and knowledge sharing system that enables the global PEN community to evaluate and document success, share best practices, and ensure member engagement and consensus Measuring success: The third goal focuses on building systems that can sustain the global PEN network and ensure the effectiveness of its programming beyond the four-year strategic plan period. As with Goal #2, the impact of PEN International’s capacity building efforts include both internal and external benchmarks. Internal benchmarks will include measurably improved operational systems for financial management, information management, programme 21

monitoring and evaluation, fundraising, communications, and organization-wide learning and information sharing. The impact of this improved infrastructure and expanded capacity will be evident in a range of external benchmarks, including: · · · · ·

Significantly increased funding support from the PEN community, including member dues, centre contributions, and revenues from PEN’s Publishers, Writers, Screen, and Readers circles A sharper public voice for PEN as a whole, and a more diverse representation of PEN’s diverse global membership and its international network of centres in the organization’s internal and external communications Increased press and digital media coverage of PEN’s advocacy and programming and a more prominent PEN presence in cultural and policy debates at the local, regional, and international level Increased awareness of the reach and effectiveness of PEN’s work among funders and the public at large Substantial commitments from foundations and major donors for funding through 2021, PEN’s centennial year.

22